Transform into a Confident & Competent ICU Nurse with the Virtual ICU Nurse Training Course

Who Am I?

 

My name is Shakira Thomas, BSN, RN, CCRN. I’ve been a nurse for 8 years. I’m a wife, mother of a 2 year old, and a dog mom to two rescues. I'm originally from Saint Louis, MO and now I live in Southern California.

 

I help Nurses & Student Nurses achieve confidence and competence so that they can be successful while working in the ICU.

 

Where Was I?

 

I was a lost nursing student when I first stepped into the ICU during my critical care rotation. I had no confidence there. Then, I actually got the opportunity to complete my capstone/ clinical internship in ICU and failed miserably. I felt so stupid and unprepared. I didn’t have a good ICU foundation, and was scared of the alarms because I didn’t know how to respond, including, ventilators honking, IV pumps beeping, and cardiac monitor alarms ringing. My Preceptor was not helpful! She stated that she was burnt out from ICU Nursing and that I should just be a Med Surge Nurse since I was slow at catching on. When I asked for someone else no one was available to train me. I felt so alone in a new scary environment. After graduating with my BSN, I failed NCLEX twice! The third time I took it I passed. Then, as a new grad RN, I worked one year on the Med Surg Unit and hated it! So many call lights, not enough time to actually get to know my patients because the nurse to patient ratio was a nightmare. The most patients that I ever took care of on the Med Surg Unit was 7! I was so overwhelmed and unhappy in that unit. I wasn't using any nursing skills, no critical thinking, just passing out pain meds like a robot, charting on 7 different patients, discharging one only to admit a new one, hoping to leave work at a decent time. After that first year, I landed an ICU position, only lasted 2 months because I was not understanding everything and was still intimidated by all the things in ICU: managing drips, interpreting EKG strips, remembering ACLS in a code blue, ventilator management, CODE stroke, CODE STEMI, CODE SEPSIS ETC. I was so broken but I knew there had to be a better way for me to become a successful ICU Nurse so that I could actually use my nursing skills, use critical thinking, challenge my brain, make more money while taking care of less patients, have the opportunity to pursue Travel ICU Nursing, CRNA school, and NP school.

 

Where Am I Now?

 

Now, I’m a confident and competent ICU Nurse. I passed my national certification CCRN on the first attempt in 2017. I always pass my annual EKG exams, I always lead the code blues, and I am a Resource Nurse in my ICU. I take care of one to two critical ICU patients per shift and make six figures as a Staff ICU Nurse. There is no patient population that I’m afraid to take care of. I have ICU experience from a Level I Trauma Center, cared for gunshot wounded patients needing surgery, Comprehensive Stroke Centers, experience with Postoperative Open Heart surgical patients, CABG, STEMIs, Septic Shock, CO VID/PNA, Acute Renal Failure, CRRT, DKA, ARDS, and have ICU Travel Nursing under my belt. I have been a Preceptor in the ICU for 5 years now, helping multiple new grads and experienced nurses to become top notch successful ICU nurses.

 

Now I'm helping others get to where I am because I know exactly how hard ICU Nursing can be. You can become an expert, you just need the perfect mentor! This is why I've created the Virtual ICU Nurse Training Course.